


To Ship or Not To Ship

by ZombieBabs



Series: TBTP Tumblr Prompts [1]
Category: The Black Tapes Podcast
Genre: Comment Fic, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-12
Updated: 2015-11-12
Packaged: 2018-05-01 08:18:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5198777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZombieBabs/pseuds/ZombieBabs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nic teaches Dr. Strand the meaning of the term 'shipping.'</p><p>*Edited 7.20.17</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Ship or Not To Ship

**Author's Note:**

> Short comment fic on tumblr based on a tweet from The Black Tapes Podcast on Twitter. Enjoy!

Nic looks up to find Dr. Richard Strand standing in the doorway to his office, his knuckles poised to knock.

Hey, Dr. Strand," Nic says, waving the good doctor inside. "What's up? Did you need something?"

Strand frowns. He sits in the chair across from Nic and holds out his phone. On the screen is a post on Twitter, made by The Black Tapes Podcast marketing team, but Strand seems to be indicating the comments more than the actual post itself. "What does this mean?"

"May I?" Nic asks.

Strand hands the phone to Nic.

Nic immediately clamps down on the grin threatening to escape when he reads through the thread of replies. “Oh, fans have been shipping you and Alex.”

Strand's frown deepens. His brows draw down. “To where?”

 _Oh, God_ , Nic thinks. 

“No," he says, "it’s…hard to explain.”

“I hate cruises,” Strand says, obviously still confused. 

Nic rubs the bridge of his nose. Where does he even begin? “’Shipping’ is an internet term. It’s short for, um, ‘relationship.’”

Somehow, Strand’s frown gets even deeper. “Explain, please.”

“Well, it’s sort of when fans cheer on characters, or real people, they think would be good in a relationship. Like, dating, or whatever.”

Strand’s cheeks turn a delicate pink. “Oh.”

Nic blinks just to be sure he’s not imagining things. Sure enough, a soft, rosy blush has spread over the arch of his nose and into the stubble on his cheekbones.

Strand tries to hide it by taking back his phone and burying his face into it. “So, by ‘touch faces’ they mean–-?”

Nic’s grin cannot be contained any longer. “Kissing, Dr. Strand. They mean kissing.”

Strand coughs. “I see.”

Nic suddenly feels sorry for the guy. “I know it’s awkward, especially for someone as private as you are–-”

“No, no, it’s–-fine,” Strand says. 

“Are you sure, because we can–”

“No need.” Strand glances back to his phone and then back at Nic. “If you’ll excuse me, I have an appointment.”

 _Sure_ , Nic thinks as Strand leaves the room. _An appointment with Alex to touch faces._

**Author's Note:**

> *Edited 7.20.17


End file.
